Kaine says he has ‘real qualms’ about Biden admin sending Ukraine cluster bombs

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) expressed concerns about the Biden administration sending cluster munitions to Ukraine, stating that he has some “real qualms” about the decision.

Fox News anchor Shannon Bream asked the Senate Democrat about the controversial decision to send the deadly bombs to the war-torn country, who responded by bring up a 2008 treaty signed by 123 countries, pledging not to use cluster munition weapons in war. The U.S., Russia and Ukraine are not signatories on the treaty.

“There is an international convention against [the] use of these cluster munitions that dates back to 2008,” he said. “And the reason the prohibition was put in place, as you have described, is that these are kinds of munitions that can lead to some downstream risks to civilians.”

Cluster munitions are designed to spread out multiple submunitions over a wide area, however, undetonated bombs could remain an explosive hazard for civilians.

Kaine acknowledged that Russia has previously used cluster munitions to target Ukrainian civilians, adding that Ukraine does not intend to use the munitions to target Russian civilians.

“I would still say, though, I have some real qualms about it,” he added. “When there’s an international prohibition, and the U.S. says, ‘But here’s a good reason to do something different,’ it could give a green light to other nations to do something different as well.”

Still, Kaine praised the Biden administration for reaching an agreement with Ukraine on “using these munitions in a way to dislodge Russian military while minimizing risks to Ukrainian civilians.”

The Biden administration announced its controversial plans to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions last week, which Kyiv has long requested.

The decision sparked worry over the weapon’s ability to harm civilians and children long after the bombs had fallen, with human rights activists and some lawmakers speaking out against the choice.

However, Biden defended the decision, saying that the Ukrainians need them as they run out of ammunition. He noted the “main thing” is whether the Ukrainians have the weapons to stop the Russians.